"The diagnosis re-centred me": Coronation Street's Vicky Myers reveals how cancer battle and divorce in same year changed her life

Coronation Street star Vicky Myers recently opened up about her personal struggle of battling cancer amid a divorce from her then-husband in 2010. In an exclusive published by the Mirror on March 21, Myers recalled the difficult time that made her put her acting dreams on standby as she was forced to take odd jobs to provide for her daughter Meghan.

She revealed how the cancer diagnosis "re-centred me and made me focus on what is really important and what makes me happy." Vicky Myers re-entered the acting field in 2016, starring in the Harlan Coben series The Five.

She has been a regular on ITV's Coronation Street, colloquially referred to as Corrie, for the past three years, playing police officer DS Lisa Swain.

Earlier this month, the 48-year-old actress revealed that she was promoted to a series regular.

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Vicky Myers' cancer was spotted during her nephew's medical check-up

According to the Mirror, Vicky Myers was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2010 during a chance encounter with a doctor while taking her nephew for a medical check-up.

“My nephew has a heart condition. As we turned to leave, the doctor said, "Can I have a look at that mark on your leg?" Within five days I was in hospital," she said.

Recalling the incident, Myers felt that she had "an angel watching over her", explaining that she was wearing three-quarter combat pants that she had rolled into shorts due to the hot weather, which made her mark visible for the doctor to spot.

Vicky Myers was diagnosed with skin cancer, a devastating blow to her life that came just months after she and her ex-husband filed for divorce. She underwent reconstructive surgery and was out of commission from acting for six months.

As she recovered her strength, she started auditioning again but was forced to give up acting in 2013 after being plagued by endless rejections.

“I felt financially, mentally and ­physically I needed a break just to breathe. Working as an actress was difficult. There were times when the phone didn’t ring, or I didn’t get chosen after an audition," she recalled.

Calling the time "enormously stressful", Vicky Myers recounted the numerous odd jobs she held to make ends meet, including ironing people's clothes.

She later took on an office job in a casting house but revealed that her plan was always to return to acting.

In 2016, she booked a role in Harlan Coben's The Five, followed by Channel 4 ’s Ackley Bridge and The Long Shadow.

But she longed to return to Coronation Street, having played three minor roles in the show at the start of her acting career.

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Vicky Myers returned to Corrie as DS Lisa Swain in 2021

In May 2021, Vicky Myers made her first appearance as DS Lisa Swain in the soap opera, investigating Daisy Midgeley's acid attack and serial killer Stephen Reid.

Earlier this month, she was promoted to a more permanent role in the cast after arresting Roy Cropper for the suspected murder of missing teenager Lauren Bolton.

Myers announced the news of her promotion on social media on March 4 with the caption "Swain’s here to stay!"

Hailing from Stockport, Greater Manchester, Vicky Myers explained her ambition to be a part of the iconic British soap opera. Speaking to the Mirror, she said:

“In the North, as soon as you say you’re an actress, people say, ‘Oh, have you been in Coronation Street?’ Now I can say I have. On my very first day, I walked down the cobbles and I thought, ‘I know you.’ I’ve grown up watching the show, so it feels like home.”

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Coronation Street, a British television staple that first premiered in December 1960, airs at 8 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays on ITV1 and ITVX.